The tarrasque is Gargantuan, and can thus walk through a Medium creature's space, treating it as difficult terrain. However, the tarrasque is 50 feet tall and 70 feet long, and a creature can't end its move in another creature's space. Is the tarrasque too big to get past a Medium creature?
The tarrasque is Gargantuan, and can thus walk through a Medium creature's space, treating it as difficult terrain. However, the tarrasque is 50 feet tall and 70 feet long, and a creature can't end its move in another creature's space. Is the tarrasque too big to get past a Medium creature?
Yes. But it also usually won't try to. Against a single Medium creature, it might bite you, allowing it to continue moving while dragging you, or against two or or more, it'll just lay in for serious combat.
Note also that because it has +10 to Athletics, it automatically succeeds on the DC to clear a hurdle 1/4 the height that the jump is long, and because it has speed 40, it can burn 10 feet of movement to make a 30 foot jump. You need to be at least 7'7" for the Tarrasque to hit you on this jump, although it's possible you can stick your arms up in the air to count, and/or your weapon. The rules aren't exactly clear.
Interesting idea with the jump, but the jump is not limited just by the tarrasque's 30 Strength. Every foot cleared in a jump counts against the jumping creature's movement, so it couldn't get past in this way either.
This isn't game-breaking, but it just seems strange that the tarrasque can't just walk over a rat due to the rule against stopping in another creature's space.
The tarrasque is Gargantuan, and can thus walk through a Medium creature's space, treating it as difficult terrain. However, the tarrasque is 50 feet tall and 70 feet long, and a creature can't end its move in another creature's space. Is the tarrasque too big to get past a Medium creature?
You can't willingly end your move in another creature's space. "Oops, I ran out of move" isn't willing :)
Other than that, a creature's space is not terribly correlated with its size. It probably only has around a 30' space.
The size of a gargantuan creatures space is 20x20 or larger, but there is no specific guideline for how to adjudicate creature size larger than stated, and not all gargantuan creatures give their size. Plus, we only have length and height for the Tarrasque, not width, and it can be assumed that some of the length is tail. We don't really know what space the tarrasque would "control" in combat, but it is probably not a space equated to its exact dimensions.
but in the end, i would argue that if a creature was blocking the tarrasques path by its lonesome its gonna get eaten
Interesting idea with the jump, but the jump is not limited just by the tarrasque's 30 Strength. Every foot cleared in a jump counts against the jumping creature's movement, so it couldn't get past in this way either.
This isn't game-breaking, but it just seems strange that the tarrasque can't just walk over a rat due to the rule against stopping in another creature's space.
As others have noted, it's impossible to accurately assume the size of a Tarrasque's space - gargantuan creatures have no defined space, only a defined space minimum. But since it's a 50 foot tall biped with a 20 foot tail, and a 5 foot biped controls a 5 foot space, and a 10 foot biped controls a 10 foot space, and a 16 to 26 foot biped (using the giants section of the MM) controls a 15 foot space, it's probably safe to assume the creature controls a space larger than 20x20. That said, I very much doubt its space is so large that if it jumps the rat, so there's no rough terrain, 40 feet of movement isn't enough to clear the rat. Even with a 30x30 space it would be able to make that jump.
EDIT: Addendum: Pantagruel is correct. The Tarrasque can willingly end its move above the rat, then unwillingly fall onto it. The TCOE rules will then presumably apply.
There is an optional rule in the DMG Chapter 9 that allows smaller characters to willingly end their turn in the space of a (much) larger creature:
Climb onto a Bigger Creature
If one creature wants to jump onto another creature, it can do so by grappling. A Small or Medium creature has little chance of making a successful grapple against a Huge or Gargantuan creature, however, unless magic has granted the grappler supernatural might.
As an alternative, a suitably large opponent can be treated as terrain for the purpose of jumping onto its back or clinging to a limb. After making any ability checks necessary to get into position and onto the larger creature, the smaller creature uses its action to make a Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check contested by the target’s Dexterity (Acrobatics) check. If it wins the contest, the smaller creature successfully moves into the target creature’s space and clings to its body. While in the target’s space, the smaller creature moves with the target and has advantage on attack rolls against it.
The smaller creature can move around within the larger creature’s space, treating the space as difficult terrain. The larger creature’s ability to attack the smaller creature depends on the smaller creature’s location, and is left to your discretion. The larger creature can dislodge the smaller creature as an action—knocking it off, scraping it against a wall, or grabbing and throwing it—by making a Strength (Athletics) check contested by the smaller creature’s Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check. The smaller creature chooses which ability to use.
While most nuanced rules are written from the perspective of "what can the (small or medium) player characters do?", it would not be difficult to imagine this sort of option in reverse, allowing larger creatures to "trample" through and over creatures that are small enough (three or more size steps down?) to not pose a realistic obstacle to its movement, treating them as no more than difficult terrain with an opposed athletics check (contested by the small guy's Strength (Athletics) or Constitution (Athletics)? ). You'd have to play around with balance a bit, but in a fight against something truly gargantuan+ like a Tarrasque, I'd probably have it move around with impunity, unless the little party members succeeded some contested checks to hold it back.
I do wish the "or larger" part was clearer for gargantuan sized things, but 5e.
I'd guess the tarrasque occupies a space no larger than 40×40 (based on tail and bite ranges). Realistically, 30×30 is a reasonable estimate to account for arching of its neck and back.
It certainly would be strange for a creature with a 20ish foot gate to not be able to step over a rat.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
The tarrasque is Gargantuan, and can thus walk through a Medium creature's space, treating it as difficult terrain. However, the tarrasque is 50 feet tall and 70 feet long, and a creature can't end its move in another creature's space. Is the tarrasque too big to get past a Medium creature?
Yes. But it also usually won't try to. Against a single Medium creature, it might bite you, allowing it to continue moving while dragging you, or against two or or more, it'll just lay in for serious combat.
Note also that because it has +10 to Athletics, it automatically succeeds on the DC to clear a hurdle 1/4 the height that the jump is long, and because it has speed 40, it can burn 10 feet of movement to make a 30 foot jump. You need to be at least 7'7" for the Tarrasque to hit you on this jump, although it's possible you can stick your arms up in the air to count, and/or your weapon. The rules aren't exactly clear.
Interesting idea with the jump, but the jump is not limited just by the tarrasque's 30 Strength. Every foot cleared in a jump counts against the jumping creature's movement, so it couldn't get past in this way either.
This isn't game-breaking, but it just seems strange that the tarrasque can't just walk over a rat due to the rule against stopping in another creature's space.
You can't willingly end your move in another creature's space. "Oops, I ran out of move" isn't willing :)
Other than that, a creature's space is not terribly correlated with its size. It probably only has around a 30' space.
The size of a gargantuan creatures space is 20x20 or larger, but there is no specific guideline for how to adjudicate creature size larger than stated, and not all gargantuan creatures give their size. Plus, we only have length and height for the Tarrasque, not width, and it can be assumed that some of the length is tail. We don't really know what space the tarrasque would "control" in combat, but it is probably not a space equated to its exact dimensions.
but in the end, i would argue that if a creature was blocking the tarrasques path by its lonesome its gonna get eaten
As others have noted, it's impossible to accurately assume the size of a Tarrasque's space - gargantuan creatures have no defined space, only a defined space minimum. But since it's a 50 foot tall biped with a 20 foot tail, and a 5 foot biped controls a 5 foot space, and a 10 foot biped controls a 10 foot space, and a 16 to 26 foot biped (using the giants section of the MM) controls a 15 foot space, it's probably safe to assume the creature controls a space larger than 20x20. That said, I very much doubt its space is so large that if it jumps the rat, so there's no rough terrain, 40 feet of movement isn't enough to clear the rat. Even with a 30x30 space it would be able to make that jump.
EDIT: Addendum: Pantagruel is correct. The Tarrasque can willingly end its move above the rat, then unwillingly fall onto it. The TCOE rules will then presumably apply.
There is an optional rule in the DMG Chapter 9 that allows smaller characters to willingly end their turn in the space of a (much) larger creature:
While most nuanced rules are written from the perspective of "what can the (small or medium) player characters do?", it would not be difficult to imagine this sort of option in reverse, allowing larger creatures to "trample" through and over creatures that are small enough (three or more size steps down?) to not pose a realistic obstacle to its movement, treating them as no more than difficult terrain with an opposed athletics check (contested by the small guy's Strength (Athletics) or Constitution (Athletics)? ). You'd have to play around with balance a bit, but in a fight against something truly gargantuan+ like a Tarrasque, I'd probably have it move around with impunity, unless the little party members succeeded some contested checks to hold it back.
dndbeyond.com forum tags
I'm going to make this way harder than it needs to be.
I do wish the "or larger" part was clearer for gargantuan sized things, but 5e.
I'd guess the tarrasque occupies a space no larger than 40×40 (based on tail and bite ranges). Realistically, 30×30 is a reasonable estimate to account for arching of its neck and back.
It certainly would be strange for a creature with a 20ish foot gate to not be able to step over a rat.